Blog: PA Next in Line for Illegal Immigrant Children

Pennsylvania has been thrust into the madness of thousands of illegal immigrant children crossing the border unaccompanied. The state Department of Public Welfare confirmed yesterday that federal officials told them 120 children are in two temporary centers, KidsPeace in Bethlehem and the Bethany Children’s Home outside of Reading in Berks County. The other 386 youngsters are staying with “sponsors” including relatives and religious groups, said spokeswoman Kait Gillis. More are expected to follow. Questions to consider: If this is not an orchestrated mass “migration” north, how are these children so easily connecting with their families here in the US? Are these relatives here legally? Turns out the administration doesn’t even check their immigration status!

And who’s paying for this?? You guessed it — we, the taxpayers, are!

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved temporary housing grants for at least two other facilities to house the children for roughly one-month stays until they can be reunited with their families. If President Obama gets his way, they will not be sent back south to their parents, but await a hearing before an immigration judge with taxpayer funded attorneys to represent them! That’s if they even show up for the hearing. According to data from the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, about a quarter of immigrants facing deportations hearings don’t show up as ordered. The no-show rate for the juvenile immigration court docket is about 46 percent.

PA Congressman Jim Gerlach, Pat Meehan and Charlie Dent have expressed support for new spending to help deal with the illegal immigrant children, but at a lower level than the president wants.

Governor Corbett has expressed concerns about diseases these children may be bringing into the Commonwealth. Are his concerns valid? Check this and this out. You decide.